~ Thoughts on Freedom and The West

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A continuation of a tradition here at your “highly respected web log.” It’s a little different this year: January through March I offer the top-viewed posts – in a way. From April through now, it’s the top TPC columns – where, admittedly, the action really is. So:

Jan – Mar, 2018: Look down the left sidebar (PC version, not mobile) for March 2018, etc. Click. Then, scroll around and find your favorite(s).

April – Dec, 2018: Do the same thing – OR – type “TPC” in the search box and peruse the findings.

Yes, the lazy man’s way. But, this assures you, the beloved reader, get exactly the “best of” you wanted.

So far I’ve taken out what about half of the stock we had in inventory. Many, I just deleted. Most of what’s left are either notes for something else, works in progress which need full attention, and a few that need further consideration. Accomplishment.

UPDATE: I’ve scheduled a few more to post this weekend.

FP UPDATE: I kind of have the links for the rest of 2018 scheduled. And, I have a Happy 2019 post readied for January. That … may be either the end (or near the end) of FP. Not sure. It’s been fun and profitable but all good things…

So, this morning I was notified that the site domain has auto-renewed for the next year – a small cost. It occurs to me that, even as traffic has dropped significantly, the number of ads has increased just as dramatically. The mobile site, which I rarely view, is almost unusable. I may, next year, address this.

That means I’ll have to come off more money for WP. I could do this and it would be easy – if the traffic holds or increases. This site has been free since 2012. I know better than to solicit help from you cheapskates. My quandary going forward.

Time will certainly cure the injustice done today. In 500 or 1,000 years the Unaffordable TaxCare Act will be but a lousy footnote in history. …

Thanks to my relentless pounding of the issue, it only took 6.5 years. President Trump, via his tax cuts, took the teeth, of which Roberts and Co. lusting so greatly, out of the ACA. Now, a federal judge in Texas has declared the whole law unconstitutional and invalid.

A federal judge in Texas struck down the entire Affordable Care Act on Friday on the grounds that its mandate requiring people to buy health insurance is unconstitutional and the rest of the law cannot stand without it.

The ruling was over a lawsuit filed this year by a group of Republican governors and state attorneys general. A group of intervening states led by Democrats promised to appeal the decision, which will most likely not have any immediate effect. But it will almost certainly make its way to the Supreme Court, threatening the survival of the landmark health law and, with it, health coverage for millions of Americans, protections for people with pre-existing conditions and much more.

In his ruling, Judge Reed O’Connor of the Federal District Court in Fort Worth said that the individual mandate requiring people to have health insurance “can no longer be sustained as an exercise of Congress’s tax power.”

This is the fulfillment of Roberts’s idiotic logic from 2012. If it’s a tax, then it’s only a tax. Take that away and you’re left with nothing. Great.

There will be, maybe already is, an appeal. If it reaches The Nine (again), expect legalistic gymnastics to re-justify the Congressional criminality. However, I fear – I don’t think – it will go that far. While praising the ACA’s demise, The Trump is also calling for a STRONG new law. He’ll probably get one, probably next year, by working with the Dems. They, unlike the idiot party, know how to get things done.

But, if only for today, let’s all celebrate the end of a monstrosity, a pre-existing condition we can all live without.

As you might have noticed above, the Header modification is now: “Thoughts on Freedom and The West.” This, as opposed to:

This has been the general theme, anyway, for a long time. Now it’s codified. Yes, I’m still concerned with Natural Law. The cigars will continue at random intervals as will the general rambling. Also,

I moved the TPC link up the sidebar and the FP link down:

If I’m honest, TPC is, now, where my better commentary is found. FP is limping along – and likely will for a little longer, bar some reinvigoration. Natural changes.

And, just below those links, one finds the heralding of A NEW BOOK (SOON)!!

I have solicited a fitting forward from a fitting commentator. This should run about 150 pages or so. Hopefully, the e-version will be more readable than that of THLCB; the high-quality trade paperback will be awesome. Ready the credit cards…

The new, to-come entry has been entered on the updated Books Page. Peruse that, if you like.

Yesterday, I kicked off some semi-heavy posting with a social media update. My de-linking from Farcebook was multi-faceted (and great!): the great algorithm changes of 2017-2018 dealt me quiet the traffic blow. That coupled with the spying and privacy invasion and the fact that social media marketing is virtually useless led me to kill the FB account. Still, I’m missing a lot of clicks.

I appreciate that those who now visit are hardcore fans (and perverts Googling in for the #hotpants post – geeze, don’t think I haven’t noticed the pattern [still grateful for the visits]). And, by my admittedly weak standards, 2018 still counts as a “great” year along with 2015, 2016, and 2017. Something needs improvement though. Working on it.

The eventual syndication of my TPC column should help, as will increased book-related queries. I have an email list that I have never deployed. Honestly, it needs a cleanup and I need to learn how to use a list. Progress…

Other items, briefly:

More fiction coming;

Pen Names cometh;

A new alt email has been secured;

What to do with Youtube and videos in general;

I’m mindful about the old Patreon page (ignore it for now);

The ads are problematic, yes; the mobile app is horribly clogged; with a traffic increase I should be able to update $$$ and clean that up while keeping the site free;

etc.

Anyway, thanks for dropping by and reading through these changes – for the better in the near future.

It’s been a great ride so far. I’ve contemplated changes, here and there, and largely made none. That may be the pattern for the future. I will say that any modifications going forward will be for the better. And you’ll see them first.

Blah, blah, blah, blah. Let’s have a party.

Bubbly:

Smokes:

Entertainment:

By special ability, I arranged for this occasion to fall on election day – a nationwide circus just for you:

Some of you have noticed that I have lately minimized my presence on FB. I’m still there, technically and for now, for FP work (posted as FP) and possibly some TPC promotions. This post should be the last post from this Highly Respected Web Log pushed (by me) to FB.

The algorithms won, I guess. That and the following render the platform of little use to me via this site.

Banning and shadow banning is bad enough. Hell, the general inanity is enough. Buying and selling banking information is unspeakable. And, when Gary Cohn compares FB to the Big Banks, circa 2008, you know something is seriously amiss.

Forget the thought policing. Forget the Infowars ban. Facebook is going to get a LOT worse very soon.

…

At this point, if you’re still on Facebook, you’re not merely putting your children’s privacy at risk and aiding and abetting your would-be destroyer, you’re downright stupid. I’ve never been banned from Facebook, I used it sparingly at best, and I got rid of my account anyhow. The ability to indirectly exchange pictures with your extended family or cyberstalk your high school boyfriend just isn’t worth it.

If you need to have group communications, get on Idka. If you want more conventional social media, try Oneway. Or go radio dark if that suits you. But regardless, at the very least, deactivate your Facebook account and encourage your friends and family to do the same. It’s not going to get better.

No, it’s not. Be warned, whether your a conservative, a libertarian, a lefty, a pot pusher, a foodie, or just a cat video-loving normie. You ain’t safe.

I will no longer respond to likes, comments, friend requests, etc. on FB (with the possible exception of my own “liking” of TPC promos – again, for now).

The good news is that you are here, right now. You can like and comment and communicate here and you can always add yourself to the automatic distribution service (see the sidebar on the PC version).

You can do the same thing at TPC and on Youtube: follow the links on the sidebar.

I see this issue, of the socials and of greater popular society, as our American Akallabeth. The man behind the throne is lying us towards destruction. We are the faithful. Man the ships.

Some of that is technical and some of it is now technically/legally required – especially concerning the new EU regs. I don’t use deliberately cookies (I understand some are in the background for operations) and I wouldn’t know how even if I wanted to. My policy on the EU is clear: it is evil; abolish it immediately.

Somehow this “highly respected web log” missed the cut for Time’s 25 Most Influential People on Them Interwebs. I’m sure we fell in the second 25 … second 25,000 certainly…

In a field of pop culture garbage, a few figures stand out. Drudge is a given. Trump too; Tweets with a purpose. I imagine he’s the one right-winger safe from the safety and trusty councily SJWs.

The inclusion of “Q” was a surprise. His entry was tinged with doubt but there, too, was a sense of foreboding. What if he’s right about some things?

And, what if he is? Q or not, things keep changing. Dinesh D’Souza has a new documentary coming in August: Death of America. I’m not sure if that’s already happened, something we’re desperate to head off, or if it’s just a historical certainty. My gut feeling is that it’s a mix of all three.

If you’ll excuse me, I have to go work on the blog CV for next year’s list…